What are you reading in 2022?

[Eyes of Nine]

I rescued a bunch of Tom Swift Jr books (published in the 50s). I tried reading the earliest one, and after 20 pages or so, I'm done. Going to donate them away.

Now reading The Silent Parade the newest English translation of Keigo Higashino's Detective Galileo series.

Then I'll switch to graphic novels - the new Saga TP just came out and can't wait to read it.

Unless my hold at the library for Nona the Ninth comes through - that's going to be a drop everything read.

 

[Cadence]

I rescued a bunch of Tom Swift Jr books (published in the 50s). I tried reading the earliest one, and after 20 pages or so, I'm done. Going to donate them away.

Never read one of those. What made them so painful?

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Never read one of those. What made them so painful?

They are just geared towards 12yo boys, but without some of the modern angst that YA books have now (which I can't really read anymore either). There's no internal dialog like there is with modern YA books.

 

[pukunui]

I just recently read this book. It's about Charles Upham, a New Zealand soldier who earned the Victoria Cross twice for his actions during World War 2. He was first awarded the VC for his actions during the Allies' ill-fated defense of Crete and then received the second VC (or "bar") for his actions during the North Africa campaign. He was wounded and taken prisoner in North Africa. Because of his many escape attempts from camps in Italy, the Germans sent him to the infamous Colditz Castle. After the war, he hated all the attention he got because of his VC and Bar and mostly led a reclusive life on a farm on the South Island.

His story was first made famous in the 1962 novel, Mark of the Lion. Searching for Charlie is as much the story of the author's travels around Europe and North Africa in Charlie's footsteps as it is an accounting of his actions during the war and after. It's quite the read if you're into this sort of thing. I highly recommend it.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I finished Wellman's After Dark. Great stuff, and if it falls short of the greatness of the John the Balladeer short stories, that's just a measure of how good those short stories are.

Now I'm reading R.E. Howard's Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors, which seems a somewhat tenuous title. I've had the book for decades and never touched it because of that, so I figured it was time to do so.

 

[pukunui]

The Fifth Elephant is why the Watch subseries beats out the Witches for me. It's just. so. good.

This prompted me to give this one another re-read. Definitely one of the best.

Thud! and I Shall Wear Midnight are the high watermarks of the Discworld series for me.

 

[Blue]

This prompted me to give this one another re-read. Definitely one of the best.

Thud! and I Shall Wear Midnight are the high watermarks of the Discworld series for me.

All of the Tiffany Aching books are really good. They are like another half step beyond.

Thud! is in my queue. Soon to reread!

 

[pukunui]

All of the Tiffany Aching books are really good. They are like another half step beyond.

I didn't like the last one, but the first four are top notch.

Thud! is in my queue. Soon to reread!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

So good, yeah. Like I said, the Watch subseries is my favorite. And the Tiffany Aching series has some deep truths in it, that's for sure.

I am being deliberately slow in making my way through Discworld, and have been since Sir Terry passed. Because that way it'll still be years before I don't have any Discworld novels left to read.

This prompted me to give this one another re-read. Definitely one of the best.

Thud! and I Shall Wear Midnight are the high watermarks of the Discworld series for me.

 

[Mercurius]

Just finished Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis. Pretty good First Contact story, with some unique qualities.